I Knew You When
by Whistler Nights
Summary: After many attempts to get Finn to forgive her, Rachel has given up and accepted the fact that he doesn't want her. January 2011 at McKinley after Christmas break is hard. Finn won't bend, and Rachel won't beg.
1. Chapter 1

**I Knew You When**

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters.)

January's doom and gloom weren't helping Rachel. The holidays were over; the snow had gone from winter wonderland to a dirty annoyance. She had made several attempts to explain things and apologize for the millionth time, but Finn had made it plain that Finchel was over.

She finally accepted that fact, but it didn't help going back to McKinley that first day after winter break. There would be no Finn waiting at her locker, no warm hand to hold while walking down the hall. When she was the quarterback's girl, it was understood that she was off limits for slushie facials. Now all bets were off and she had packed an extra change of clothes.

Knowing that Finn didn't want to see her, she had traded parking spaces with a sophomore so she wouldn't be parking next to his truck anymore.

What she couldn't trade was her class schedule. She had Spanish first period with Finn and they usually sat beside each other holding hands under the table or passing notes. When she entered the class, Finn was already there. He had taken one of the few empty seats in the back, leaving the one next to hers obviously vacant. She was glad that he was now seated several rows behind her. He couldn't see the occasional tear hit her text book.

When the bell rang ending first period, Rachel was out the door like a shot. She didn't want to bump into Finn on the way out of the door. Mr. Schuster grabbed Finn's arm before he left the classroom.

"What's going on between you and Rachel?" Mr. Schue whispered to Finn.

"We're done, Mr. Schue. If you don't mind, please don't put us together for any more duets," Finn asked.

"But we have Regionals coming up and I was counting on the two of you blowing the judges away with a ballad. I thought that you two settled your differences over the Santana thing," Mr. Schue questioned.

"We did, but she had to go and make out with Puck while we were still a couple just to stick it to me," Finn said.

"Puck?" Mr. Shue asked.

"Yes, with Puck. Of the seven billion people on the planet, she had to make out with the one person that she knew would hurt me the most."

"Finn, I'm sorry. That's hitting below the belt," Mr. Schue sympathized. "I'll pair you with someone else for duets in the future."

"Thanks, I've got to go or I'm going to be late for my next class. I'll see you in Glee this afternoon," Finn said making his way out of the door.

The morning drug on for both of them. They usually sat together at lunch, but not today. Finn sat with his football buddies, and Rachel sat on the fringe of the Glee Club. Ever so often they would catch each other's eye before turning quickly away.

Rachel was getting up to empty her tray when Karofsky hit her directly in the face with a cherry slushie. For an instant Finn started to jump to her defense, but he stopped himself. As Tina and Mercedes helped Rachel clean herself off, Finn emptied his tray and left the cafeteria.

Mercedes couldn't believe it as Finn walked numbly past his humiliated ex-girlfriend without a single word. She started to yell at Finn but Rachel stopped her.

"Let him go, he wants nothing to do with me," Rachel said. "He probably thinks that I deserved it anyway."

At Glee practice that afternoon, the tension was thick in the air as everyone assembled, everyone except Rachel.

"Where's Rachel?" Mr. Schester asked. "She was in Spanish this morning."

"She had to go home," Mercedes volunteered. "We couldn't get the red cherry stains out in the bathroom."

"But she's been hit with red cherry before, and it never stopped her from coming to Glee practice," Puck said.

"What can I say, she didn't feel like finishing the day," Mercedes offered. "She left right after lunch and said that she wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

Glee practice continued without her. There were no duets or ballads assigned for the week. Instead they worked on preparations for Regionals. Finn had taken a seat on the far end of the choir room. Every now and then he would glance over to the two empty seats in the middle of the front row where he and Rachel once sat together.

Finn walked out to his truck after practice and saw an unfamiliar car with an unfamiliar driver sitting in Rachel's parking place next to his.

"That's Rachel Berry's parking place, what are you doing in it?" Finn asked.

"Not any more. This short, brown haired girl offered to trade parking places with me. This space is so much closer to the building so I took it," said the unfamiliar girl driving the VW Beetle.

Finn got into his truck, but just sat there for a moment thinking to himself, "What she did was cruel and deliberate." He felt sorry for the treatment that she was getting, but he wasn't going to forgive her any time soon.

The next day was a repeat of the day before. Finn sat in the back of Spanish class while Rachel sat closer to the front by his empty seat. He noticed her shiny hair and how it moved with her. Man how he had loved to tangle his fingers in her silky hair.

At lunch, Rachel was no where to be seen.

"Where's Rachel?" Finn asked Mercedes. "Did she get slushied again and go home early?"

"Why should you care? You dumped her remember? No she didn't get slushied. She brought her lunch and she's eating it in the girl's bathroom," Mercedes hissed at him.

Finn started to say something about no one should eat in one of the school's bathrooms but he stopped himself. If she wanted to eat in the bathroom it was her choice.

When Finn entered glee practice that afternoon, Rachel was already there in her usual seat front and center. He hesitated for a split second and then took a seat off to the side. The one that he had sat in the day before. She didn't look up when he passed in front of her, but she knew that he was there.

"Rachel, I'm glad that you could join us today," Mr. Schue said brightly. "We missed you yesterday."

"I'm sorry that I wasn't here Mr. Schue. I couldn't get all of the slushie stains out of my clothes and hair. By the time I cleaned myself up; I didn't feel like being here any longer."

"Rachel, I'm going to talk to Principal Figgins about getting that slushie machine removed."

"It won't do any good," Artie offered. "They'll just go across the street to the 7-Eleven and get them."

"You got that right," smirked Santana. "They've got bigger cups over there anyway. Enough to nail two losers if your aim is just right."

Finn saw Rachel cringe at the sound of Santana's words, but didn't say anything.

"We're going to practice in the auditorium today, so bring your things with you," Mr. Schue said. "I want to start blocking the steps for one of our song selections in the auditorium today, but I'm going to need your help moving left over props off of the stage and into the props storage room behind the auditorium."

The group entered the back of the darkened auditorium and Mr. Schue began flipping on lights. When they reached the stage, he hit the switch that opened the red velvet curtains.

On the stage stood nearly twenty artificial snow flocked Christmas trees and the floor was covered with fake snow.

"It looks like someone didn't clean up after their Christmas production so we'll have to do it before we can start blocking dance steps. Girls, find some brooms and dustpans, guys grab the trees," Mr. Schue instructed.

"Mr. Schue, I gotta go," Finn said from the back of the group. "I just remembered something that I forgot to do."

"Sure," Mr. Schue said.

As Finn was turning to leave, Puck grabbed him by the arm.

"Finn, I'm a lot of things, and I know that you hate me, but you're such a hypocrite," Puck said under his breath to him.

"Me? I don't know what you are talking about." Finn said pulling his arm from Puck's grip.

"Think about it bro," Puck said watching Finn make his way back up the aisle to the rear doors.

"I'm not your bro, not anymore," Finn said coldly to Puck.

After the remainder of the group heard the dampered doors close behind Finn, they turned and began doing what Mr. Schuester had asked them to do.

The boys found the Christmas tree boxes and began trying to match them up with the right size trees. The girls went into the prop storage room and found brooms, dust pans, and a large trash can to put all of the artificial snow in.

The girls finished before the boys, so Mr. Schue suggested that they begin to organize the prop storage room. The room was the height and width of the auditorium and was about twenty feet deep. Rows of costumes hung on rods from the ceiling. Twenty years worth of props were scattered on shelves and filled boxes on the floor.

Rachel was curious as she examined some of the costumes and wondered which past musical or performance they might have gone with. Santana found a box of Latin/American recording and was going through them.

"Where do you want us to start?" Mercedes asked Mr. Schue. "Some of this stuff is older than I am."

"Just make a place for all of those Christmas trees," Mr. Schue said. "When you've done with that you may go for today. All of this dust is getting to me, and it must be getting to you too. We'll be here on the stage tomorrow, so don't go to the choir room."

It took awhile to get all of those trees disassembled, boxed, and carried into the prop storage room. The girls help by taping the boxes and carrying the smaller ones. Finally they were finished and the guys decided to grab a milkshake at the local diner before they had to be at football practice. The girls headed home.

Rachel was still studying past play programs and old scripts in the back of the storage room when she realized that it was suddenly quiet. Santana was listening to some of the Latin music with the ancient headphones that she had found and hadn't noticed that everyone was gone.

Santana reached the storage room door at the same time that Rachel did and discovered that they were locked inside.

"Where did everybody go?" Rachel shrieked, "They were just here!"

Santana and Rachel beat on the door and yelled at the top of their lungs but no one heard them.

Finally Rachel stopped and said, "We are only ruining our vocal cords with all of this yelling and screaming. Our cars are in the parking lot and someone has got to notice that we're missing soon. Maybe it's some kind of a joke, because they left the lights on."

"Not if Brittany was the last one out," yelled Santana. "She thinks that lights are like refrigerator lights and they go on and off by magic. What if we're stuck in here all night? What if no one ever finds us?"

"I do have my book bag and my cell phone is in it," Rachel said trying to remain calm.

"You brought your book bag in here with you?" Santana asked.

"Well yeah," Rachel replied. "I've had so many of my things stolen and replaced with gross stuff that I just take my book bag with me when ever I'm at school."

Rachel dug in her book bag and soon brought out her pink sequined covered phone. She flipped open her phone and tried to call her dads but her phone was flashing no service. I don't have any bars on my phone Rachel said. These concrete block walls must be interfering with the signal.

"Let me try," Santana snapped as she grabbed the phone out of Rachel's hand. "Of all the freaking luck, Santana screamed when she was unable to get a signal either. "Maybe if we took some of these sequins off of your freaking phone it might work!"

Santana broke two of her fake fingernails before he gave up on Rachel's phone and threw into a box of costumes.

"Please calm down so I can think," Rachel asked. "We're on school property; someone's going to find us soon. It's only been about ten minutes anyway."

"You aren't the one that's claustrophobic," Santana said starting to hyperventilate.

"Santana, please come over here and sit down on this wing chair. I think I have some water in my book bag," Rachel asked. "I'll look around for a paper bag or something that you can breathe into."

Rachel eventually calmed Santana down and had her breathing in a slower pant.

"Thank you for the water, and the paper bag," Santana said almost in a whisper. "Where did you find the bag? It smelled like Puck's socks."

"It was on the shelf with a handful of costume jewelry in it." Rachel answered. "It was either that or let you hyperventilate."

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat in that book

bag would you?" Santana asked.

"Yes, I believe I do," Rachel answered. "I was going to eat lunch in the girl's bathroom today, but the smell was so bad that I lost my appetite."

Rachel pulled out a golden delicious apple, wiped it with a napkin and handed it to Santana.

"Why were you going to eat lunch in the girl's bathroom today?" asked Santana.

"I was hoping to avoid being slushied by Karofsky. I missed all of my afternoon classes yesterday and Glee practice because of him," Rachel answered bowing her head.

"Yeah, he got you good….," Santana laughed before she remembered where she was and who she was with.

"I'm sorry," Santana said. "I shouldn't laugh, especially since you just saved my life."

"I didn't save your life, I just stopped you from hyperventilating, that's all," Rachel said still looking at her hands in her lap.

"Why are you being nice to me especially since I've made it a personal goal to make you miserable?" Santana asked.

"It isn't in my nature to abandon someone in need of help. I wouldn't deny a dying man his last drink of water," Rachel answered.

"You just said that I wasn't dying," Santana said coolly.

"You know what I mean. You needed help and I'm glad that I was able to help. That's all. But as long as we are stuck here for who knows how long, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure munchkin, shoot." Santana said finishing her apple.

"Why have you made it your personal goal to make me miserable? And why do you call me dwarf, midget, munchkin. I'm short, but Napoleon was short and he conquered Western Europe. I could call you an assortment of names but I don't."

"Like what kind of names?" Santana asked.

"Sting Bean, Silicone Sacks, School Slut,"

"Watch it Berry, you're crossing a line," Santana warned.

"Those names hurt don't they? Well it hurts me when you constantly ridicule me. You still haven't answered my question. Why have you made it your personal goal to make me miserable?" Rachel asked.

"You really don't remember me do you Berry?"

"Santana, I've known you since the ninth grade and you've been a bitch to me since day one."

"You don't remember being the teacher's pet in the first grade? You don't remember the new kid from Puerto Rico that the teacher asked you to help speak English better?" You don't remember Maria Lopez?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember a Maria Lopez, what does she have to do with you?" Rachel puzzled.

"I'm Maria Santana Lopez. The teacher insisted that I use my first name at school."

"Was I mean to you?" Rachel asked.

"I don't think that you realized it, but you acted so superior, so much better than everyone else, just like you do now. You made me feel stupid in front of the class. You and your cashmere animal sweaters, your plaid pleated skirts, and your black patent leather Mary Jane's. My God, you are still wearing the same kind of clothes today."

"I can still see you skipping to meet your dad in his black Mercedes Benz on your way to one after school class after another." Santana said.

"Actually, I was envious of you," Rachel answered. I envied the way that you and the other Latino girls could rattle off Spanish with such ease. You could have your own little conversations and no one knew what you were talking about, kind of like a secret code. What happened after first grade?"

"We had to move to the other side of town to a house that my dad could afford. I went to elementary school and middle school with Finn and Puck while you stayed on the better side of town with your white picket fence and all of your after school classes."

"But your dad's a doctor," Rachel said.

"Yeah, my dad's a doctor who had to start over when we came to this country. He's a doctor who had to work as an orderly and retake most of his classes before he was granted a license to practice medicine in this country. We're still not rolling in money the way you are because he sees so many uninsured people who can't afford to pay him," Santana said bitterly.

"If I hurt you back then, I'm sorry," Rachel said.

"You were just a little girl then too," Santana offered. "You just represented everything that my family left behind. We went from being a respected well-to-do family in Puerto Rico to inferior outsiders."

"Santana, do you still feel inferior or insecure? Is that why you act so mean and tough? Is that why you sleep around?

"I was a late in life surprise for my parents, who were always at work and never home; I saw my sisters and all the attention that they were getting from their many boyfriends. I guess that I grew up thinking that was normal. Anyway, I do like sex. I like the feeling of power and control that it gives me over these horny teenage boys. It's nice to know that they want me and I can say no."

"If you can have your pick, why did you go after Finn? Was it because he is the quarterback?" Rachel asked.

"I didn't go after Finn exactly, I went after you," Santana answered.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked warily.

"Coach Sylvester wanted nothing more than to see the Glee Club fail. You're the key to the Glee Club; Finn is the key to you. Coach Sylvester said that I could be head cheerleader if I could get you to quit glee club. Taking away the boy that you wanted most was her idea. Losing Finn was supposed to send you into a tailspin that would cause you to quit Glee. You two were pawns." Santana confessed. And if you repeat any of this outside of this storage room, then you're dead."

"Well, I've succeeded in losing Finn all by myself," Rachel sighed.

"Are you going to quit Glee?" Santana asked.

"No, it would only give Sue Sylvester the satisfaction of knowing that her plan worked. I've lost Finn, but I did that to myself." Rachel said sadly.

-/-

Thank you for reading and reviewing! Whistler Nights


	2. Chapter 2 Lost

**Lost – Chapter 2**

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters. I do not own any of the Warner Brothers cartoon characters.)

Mr. Schuester had left the auditorium and was heading back to the choir room. He remembered that he had left his keys hanging in dead bolt lock of the prop storage room door and turned to go get them when he ran into Brittany.

"You forgot your keys," Brittany said to Mr. Schue.

"Thanks Brittany, all of the dust in the storage room was making it impossible for me to breathe. I'll see you tomorrow at Glee practice," Mr. Schue said thanking Brittany again.

Mean while Rachel and Santana were still locked inside the prop storage closet.

"I'm glad that we had this little talk," Rachel said to Santana. "It's helped me to understand a lot about you."

"Yes, but when we get out of here, all bets are off. I go back to making your life miserable, and you go back to despising me. I have to keep my reputation and we have to keep the order of things around here in check," Santana said looking around for another way out.

"If that's the way you want it," Rachel said. "At least I'll know why you do the things that you do."

"That's the way it has to be," Santana said. "I've spent two and half years building my reputation as Top Bitch and I can't lose it just because I had a panic attack."

"Your secret's safe with me," Rachel said remorsefully. "What do you want to try now? I have my rape whistle with me if we can stand it in here."

"Here's a piece of white tag board," Santana offered. "Do you have any highlighters with you? We can make a sign and stick it under the door. Maybe the janitors will see it when they sweep later this evening."

"That's a very good idea, Santana. I think that I have a highlighter in every color and maybe a black magic marker too," Rachel said digging in her book bag again.

Football practice had ended and Finn was making his way to his truck. For a moment he looked sadly at Rachel's empty parking space next to his. Then he thought to himself. "If she wants to park half a mile from the building, than that's her decision."

Finn threw his football equipment in the back of the truck and then drove toward the parking lot gate. He couldn't help but notice that Rachel's pink Prius was still in the parking lot. He wondered about it and then he decided that she was probably in the auditorium singing some sad song to herself. That's how she coped when things didn't go the way that she wanted.

Finn parked in the drive way at the Hummel/Hudson house and then made his way inside and made himself an after school snack. Flipping on the TV, his favorite afternoon cartoons were on. Four episodes of Road Runner and Wiley Coyote cartoons later, Carole came through the door followed closely by Burt. It was already getting dark, but Finn really hadn't noticed.

Carole was asking Finn how his day had been when the house phone rang.

"Finn, it's for you. It's Leroy Berry," Carole said handing Finn the phone.

"What does he want with me?" Finn said in a whisper.

"Yes, Mr. Berry, this is Finn. How are you? She didn't? I saw her car in the school parking lot when I left about two and half hours ago. No, but I'll meet you at school and help you look. Mr. Schue has a set of keys, I'll call him. See you in a few, bye,"

"What is it dear?" Carole asked Finn.

"Rachel didn't come home and Leroy and Hiram are panicking," Finn said annoyed.

"Should we call the police?" Burt asked.

"Let me call Mr. Schue and check the auditorium first. Rachel always goes in there and sings to herself when she's hurt or upset. Her car was still at school when I left. It may just be another one of her attempts to get my attention. The 'I'm sorry' cookies in the mailbox didn't work," Finn said reaching for his coat and his cell phone.

"Finn, don't say that. She maybe upset over her breakup with you, but I don't think that she would worry her fathers like this on purpose," Carole scolded him.

Finn called Mr. Schue and asked him to meet him at school with his keys. Hiram and Leroy were already there shaking the front doors trying to find a way in. Rachel's car was still at the far end of the parking lot.

"Mr. Berry, Mr. Berry," Mr. Schue greeted them. "Rachel likes to sing to herself in the auditorium when she's upset. Maybe she's in there and lost track of the time."

"We've tried to call her many times, but her cell phone just goes to voice mail." Hiram said worriedly.

The four men entered the school and made their way to the auditorium. As Mr. Schue hit the switches the lights came on one after another, but Rachel was no where to be seen. They made their way down to the stage when Finn noticed Santana's book bag sitting in one of the seats.

"That's Santana's book bag," Finn said. "Is she missing too?"

Hiram, Leroy, Will, and Finn immediately started calling the girl's names. When the echoing in the auditorium stopped, Mr. Schue thought he heard someone beating on a door and yelling for help.

"That's them, they're in the storage room," Mr. Schue said relieved.

"Running around to the storage room, they found a sign on the floor in front of the door reading, "Help, SOS, We're stuck in here! Rachel Berry and Santana Lopez,"

Mr. Schue immediately opened the door to find Rachel and Santana on the other side of it.

"Oh Mr. Schue, it's you! I've never been so glad to see you," Santana gushed as she ran out to hug him.

"Thank goodness you found us," Rachel squealed as she hugged Leroy, Hiram, Mr. Schuster, and finally Finn.

"I knew that you would come looking for me, I knew that you would find me," Rachel said as she hugged Finn tightly while kissing him on his neck.

"Rachel, I'm glad that you are okay, and that we found you, but nothing's changed. Your dads called me asking for help and I helped them, that's all," Finn said stepping back from Rachel. "I gotta go. I'm going to be late for dinner."

Finn turned and Rachel watched him leave the same way that he had left earlier in the afternoon.

"Are my parents or my family here?" Santana wanted to know.

"No Santana, we didn't even know that you were missing until Finn recognized your book bag in the auditorium," Mr. Schue said softly.

"At least someone missed you," Santana said to Rachel as they watched the auditorium doors close behind Finn again.

Rachel paused for a moment and then ran up the aisle after Finn as fast as she could. She reached him in the hall and grabbed his arm.

"Is that all you've got to say? That you're going to be late for dinner!" Rachel said as she felt her anger rise. "We could've been stuck in there for days, and you don't even care. Did you think that this was some stunt or something?"

"To be honest, the thought did cross my mind. You've done crazier things than this before," Finn said.

"If I was going to get myself stuck with someone, do you think that it would be Santana Lopez of all people?" Rachel spat the words in Finn's face.

Hearing a door close, Finn and Rachel turned to see Hiram, Leroy, Mr. Schue and Santana standing behind them. From the look on Santana's face, she had heard what Rachel had just said to Finn.

-/-

Thank you for reading and reviewing, Whistler Nights


	3. Chapter 3 I'm Sorry

**I'm Sorry – Chapter 3**

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters.)

-/-

Rachel was standing in the hall in front of the auditorium staring Finn down. She was so angry at that moment; Finn knew that he had to leave before they both said something that they'd both regret.

Rachel released her grip on his arm as he looked at her and simply said to her, "I'm sorry Rachel"

She fought back the tears as she watched him walk away again.

Turning around, Rachel saw both of her fathers, Mr. Schue, and Santana standing behind her. Mr. Schue had Rachel's book bag slung over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear that Santana. What I meant was, if it was five hours ago, I wouldn't have picked you to get locked in with," Rachel said to Santana

"That's okay dwarf. Like I said, when the storage room door opens, all bets are off. Everything goes back to the way it's supposed to be," Santana hissed at Rachel.

"Let me give you a ride to your car," Mr. Schue offered Santana.

"No thanks, I can make my way home from here," Santana smirked.

When Santana was gone, Mr. Schuster turned to Rachel and asked, "What was that all about?"

"Not much, I just understand a little more about her now. Thank you Mr. Schuster for coming to our rescue, but if you don't mind, I'd like to get out of here now," Rachel said.

"I completely understand. I'll have to call Principal Figgins and tell him about what happened here. He may have a few questions for the two of you," Mr. Schue said handing Rachel her book bag.

"Fine, you now know where you can find me," Rachel answered as she followed her dads out the school entrance.

When school opened the next morning one of the school maintenance trucks was parked outside the school entrance. Workmen were there changing the lock to the props storage room door to one with a thumb latch on the inside.

Finn walked into his Spanish class. It was his first period class and the one that he shared with Rachel. She was already there, but he did stop and ask if she was okay before taking his new seat in the back of the classroom. Mr. Schue also sat down to ask how she was before class started. He explained to her that they'd figured out that Brittany had pulled the door closed without knowing that it would lock. She didn't see the two of them in there for all of the props.

The morning wore on and lunch period began. Rachel was sitting with the Glee kids, but this time she was the center of attention. They all wanted to know about getting locked in the afternoon before.

"Did Santana try to kill you?" Artie asked.

"No, Rachel smiled. "In fact I saw a softer side of her while we were locked in there together."

Santana was eating lunch with the Cherrios, and it was the same at her table. The cheerleaders wanted to know if the dwarf freaked out or worse.

Rachel did notice that Finn was looking her way more than he had the two previous days. But as soon as she made eye contact he looked away.

At Glee practice that afternoon, Mr. Schue told everyone about the events of the afternoon before, and showed them that the lock at been changed to one that unlocked from the inside.

When practice was over Finn stopped Rachel and asked if they could talk for a few minutes.

"Aren't you going to be late for practice? I thought that you had to run laps if you're late," Rachel said.

"I don't mind running laps, it's more important that you and I get this out in the open," Finn said twisting his month to one side.

Everyone left and Mercedes was the last one out leaving Finn and Rachel alone in front of the stage. Mercedes looked back and saw Rachel and Finn trying to talk to one another as she closed the auditorium door behind her.

Mercedes was heading out when she saw Quinn heading back her way.

"Where're you going? Mercedes asked Quinn.

"I forgot my sheet music in the auditorium," Quinn answered.

"Well you can't go in there right now Missy. Finn and Rachel are finally talking to each other," Mercedes said taking Quinn by the arm and turning her around.

"Rachel," Finn began, "I'm sorry that I assumed that you locked yourself in the storage room on purpose. I should've known better when I saw that you were locked in there with Santana, but you've been doing some weird stuff lately to get my attention."

"Well I'm sorry that I assumed that you'd be happy to see me. I'm assuming now that your head is still pretty messed up since you jumped to the wrong conclusion so quickly. I didn't lock myself in a closet with the girl who hates me the most to get your attention. My New Years Resolution has been to stop chasing you and I haven't broken it," Rachel said firmly.

"What do you mean by your New Years Resolution?" Finn asked.

"On January one, I resolved to stop chasing you or trying to get you to forgive me. I know when I'm not wanted," Rachel said dejectedly.

"Rachel, it's not a matter of not wanting you, it's a matter of broken trust, it's a matter of mean spirited spite. You say that you love me, but then you turn around and hurt like that? I can't just get over this over night."

Finn continued, "I'm not ready to be your boyfriend again. I may never be, but I would like to put some of this open hostility and animosity behind us. If we can't do it for ourselves, can we at least do it for the team?"

"Sure," Rachel said determined not to let Finn see her heart break. "I can bury the hatchet for the sake of the team, but may I ask one thing of you before you go?"

"You know that you can," Finn said.

"May I have one last goodbye kiss?" Rachel asked.

Finn leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. She wanted to deepen the kiss and make it last, but she didn't. As he broke the kiss and pulled back, Rachel felt the electricity course down her spine and all the way to her toes.

"Friends?" Finn said to her.

"Friends, Rachel said back.

Quinn had returned for her sheet music and from the back of the auditorium she had witnessed the kiss. She quietly closed the door and decided that she would get her sheet music tomorrow.

The following morning, Quinn was digging through her locker getting the books that she would need for first and second period classes. She noticed a tall figure rummage through another locker a few yards away. From the corner of her eye she saw that it was Finn.

"Good morning Finn," Quinn greeted him cheerfully. "I wasn't spying yesterday, but I saw you and Rachel kissing in the auditorium. Have you two made up?"

"It's not what you think," Finn said. "Rachel and I aren't back together. If fact, it was a good bye kiss. She wanted closure."

"Finn, I'm sorry, I just assumed," Quinn stuttered.

"Well you know what that say about the word assume. You make an ass out of 'u' and me," Finn said closing his locker."

Quinn bit her lip before she looked at Finn and said, "Finn you and I never had closure. We never had a good bye kiss."

In an instant his lips were on her's. When Finn finally broke the kiss, Quinn looked into his chestnut eyes and whispered, "I have missed you so much."

"But you're with Sam now," Finn said.

Quinn whispered back to him, "Sam's a boy, you're a man."

Finn leaned in for another kiss when he felt two hands grab him by the collar and slam him into the lockers.

"What the hell are you doing with my girlfriend?" Sam screamed at the taller boy. "Can't you leave anything that's mine alone?"

Sam began to wail on Finn with both fists. Finn raised his hands in defense, but let Sam wail away on him. After three or four good hits, Sam felt Puck pull him off of Finn.

"What's going on?" Puck demanded to know. "Are you trying to get expelled?"

"He can't keep his filthy hands off of anything that's mine," Sam shouted. "First he takes my quarterback position and now he's kissing my girl. He has a girlfriend if he'd take his head out of his ass. But no, he has to make moves on Quinn!"

By now a small crowd was surrounding Puck, Finn, Sam and Quinn. In the crowd was Rachel. She wanted to offer Finn a tissue for his bleeding lip, but she didn't. She turned and walked away.

-/-

Thank you for reading and reviewing. Whistler Nights


	4. Chapter 4 A Hypocrite

**A Hypocrite – Chapter 4**

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters.)

Puck pulled Sam off of Finn, and then yelled at Finn, "You're lucky that I pulled him off of you instead of letting give you the beat down that you deserve! I meant it when I said that you're a hypocrite!"

Finn stood there wiping the blood from his lip as he and Puck watched Rachel leave.

Sam then turned his attention to Quinn, "I heard what you whispered to Finn, that I was a boy and he was a man. Can you tell me the difference between us? The only difference that I can see is that he has screwed Santana and I haven't. Is that what you want? Santana's leftovers? Well I can certainly arrange that."

Sam turned and headed off down the hall.

"Are you happy Finn?" Puck shouted at him, "You won't even consider forgiving Rachel for kissing me, but you're kissing another guy's girlfriend. Kissing your ex right here in the hall, right here where Rachel can see you? What's with you man? I'm a man-whore, but at least I don't pretend to be something else."

"Quinn said that she and I didn't have closure, that we didn't have a goodbye kiss." Finn stammered still wiping blood from his face and rubbing his sore ribs.

"Think about it man, when you found out the truth about Beth, it wasn't exactly a kissable moment," Puck snarled at Finn. "You are so screwed up."

"I've got to find Rachel and explain things," Finn said.

"You stay the hell away from Rachel. Your life maybe spinning out of control, but you aren't going to take her with you."

The crowd soon broke up and Finn was standing there alone with Quinn.

"I'm sorry Quinn, I shouldn't have kissed you," Finn said.

"It's okay; I kind of invited you to kiss me. I do miss you Finn. You're my first love, and you don't forget your first love. Are you going to try and patch things up with Rachel," Quinn asked.

"I don't think that there's anything left to patch up," Finn remorsed. "Puck's right, I'm a hypocrite. I'd like to tell Rachel that much."

"Good luck with that one," Quinn sighed. "I don't think Puck will let you get close to her without ripping your head off."

"Does Puck have a thing for Rachel," Finn asked Quinn.

"No, I don't think that he has a thing for Rachel," Quinn said. "Puck's mother keeps pushing him toward Rachel simply because she Jewish. If Puck were to marry Rachel and give his mom a houseful of Jewish grandbabies, she would forgive for every sin that he's ever committed."

The image of Rachel marrying Puck crossed Finn's mind and he didn't like it.

Later that afternoon, Mercedes entered the choir room and immediately noticed the new seating arrangement. Finn was sitting near Quinn, Sam was sitting with Santana, and Puck looked like he was guarding Rachel.

"Are we playing musical chairs and I don't know about it?" Mercedes asked. "You people switch partners faster than I switch shoes."

"We're not dating," Rachel said. "Puck just seems to think that he needs to protect me."

"We're not dating either," Quinn offered.

Glee practice was strained to say the least that day. Mr. Schue even talked about the possibility of withdrawing from Regionals if everyone couldn't get along.

That night Finn was trying to work on his homework when his phone started to vibrate with a new text message. It was from Rachel and contained only one word, "Why?"

"Why what?" Finn wrote back to her.

"Why can you forgive Quinn, but you can't forgive me?"

"Rach, I'd really like to talk face to face, can I come over?" Finn texted back.

"No, my dads are in the living room. Just answer my question," Rachel wrote back.

"I will if I can come over. We can talk in my truck," Finn

typed back.

"Ok, be here in 20 minutes," Rachel answered.

Rachel was waiting when she saw the familiar truck pull up in front of her house. She dashed out and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Make it quick," Rachel said, "I still have a lot of homework to do."

"Rachel, Quinn saw our good bye kiss in the auditorium and thought that we had made up. When I told her that you asked for a good bye kiss, she said that we never had a good bye kiss either. Like a fool, I kissed her and I'm sorry. I did the very thing that I'm holding against you. I just wanted to stop hurting for a moment."

"Like I wanted to stop hurting when I kissed Puck?" Rachel asked. "Just tell me how you can forgive her when she had a baby with Puck and I just kissed him. That's all that I want to know."

"I haven't forgiven her, but I need to forgive you. All this time I've only been thinking how you hurt me. Rachel, can we forgive each other?" Finn asked. "Puck's right, I'm a hypocrite. I kissed you our sophomore year when I was still with Quinn. There's no difference."

"Yes, we can forgive each other, but I'm not ready to start dating you or anyone else right now. Too much has happened to just pick up the pieces and start up where we left off," Rachel said.

"I guess that I deserve that," Finn answered. "Do you still love me after what I've put you through?"

"Finn, I never stopped loving you, but right now, I don't like you. It seems like all we do is start over," Rachel concluded.

"I understand," Finn said. "Right now I don't like myself either, but I never stopped loving you. And yes, I was glad to see you the night that you were stuck in the storage closet. But like an idiot, I was still licking my hurt pride."

"Let's start with not hating each other and see where it goes from there. Maybe we can learn to like each other again," Rachel said.

"Rachel, I could never hate you," Finn said.

"Well, that's a good place to start," Rachel said as she slid out of the Finn's truck and closed the door behind her.

Finn watched as she made her way back up her sidewalk and into her house. He sat there watching until he saw her porch light go off and it was dark again. Maybe he and Rachel could be a couple again. He didn't know if it was possible, but he was going to try.

-/- The End. I hope that you've enjoyed my short story. Thank you for reading and for the much appreciated reviews.


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